We created Johnny’s Seed Starter Awards as a special way to recognize the hard-working teachers in our lives, and now we’re proud to introduce our three most recent winners to you. Let’s hear it for these exceptional Michigan teachers:

Cauleen Pitzer (April Winner)
This special kindergarten teacher at CA Frost Environmental Academy in Grand Rapids won our April Seed Starter Award after receiving three nominations from the community. One parent said, “Mrs. Pitzer is so caring and encouraging of her students in a way that makes them want to learn, participate, and be their best selves in the classroom, at home, and within their community.” Another said, “She handles the chaos of kindergarten with grace and love and makes each child feel special and important.” And the third added, “Cauleen builds every one of her students up through patience and understanding. We adore her and feel beyond blessed to have our lives and our kids’ lives touched by her.”

Melissa Van Til (May Winner)
Congrats to our May Seed Starter Award winner who teaches at Thrive Learning Center in Grand Rapids! She was nominated by a community member who told us, “Melissa truly believes in allowing kids to shine and learn through multi-faceted learning opportunities. This allows her students to learn from each other, learn through play, and learn from the world around them to become more well-rounded, curious, and kind individuals.” As one of the co-teachers at Thrive, she loves seeing students grow, rediscover the joy of learning, and get more comfortable taking risks in the classroom.

Peter Lombardo (June Winner)
And now, a big round of applause for Peter, who teaches 6th grade math at Thornapple Kellogg in Middleville! Their nomination praised them for going out of his way to find a connection with students, “Mr. Lombardo has made my son feel that his differences don’t make him odd, but instead, exceptional.” It’s people like Peter who plant the seeds of success in so many young people in our community, and it’s an honor to give back to them.

We’ve honored each one of our Seed Starter Award winners with a $50 Shell gift card for fuel or in-store purchases, a Seed Starter Award certificate for their classroom, a feature on our social media, and this feature story! If you know another teacher in our Michigan and Indiana communities who deserves to be recognized, click the Nomination Form button below.